Ray and Liz want Liz’s sister Joy to take care of their children, Rose and Sam in the event they were to die before they were grown.  However, they do not want Joy to have to manage the kids’ money for two reasons. 

First, as we talked about in an earlier column, she is not “good with money” and does not like managing finances.  Second, Ray and Liz know that simply taking care of the two kids will be a big responsibility and take much of Joy’s time and energy.  They want her to be able to focus on that, not figuring out how to invest the money from Ray and Liz’s life insurance policies.

So having someone else in charge of the kids’ money would be better.  Fortunately, there are two types of guardianship, and Ray and Liz can name different people for each type in their Wills.

The first type is called being guardian of the person.  That is the person who makes the decisions about Sam and Rose’s care – such as where they will live, what they will eat each day, and who will pick them up when they cry. 

The second type of guardian is the guardian of the estate.  That is the person in charge of managing their money.  That person makes sure any school or other bills are paid, that the money is invested wisely, and decides what money will be available to them before they are on their own.

To plan for possible guardianship of your children, please call our office at (815) 436-1996 to set an estate planning appointment.

©2015 Gruber Law Office, Ltd.